Certification of portable fire extinguishers: UK21/F003
Adopted EU recommendation FIRE-013. UK approved recommendation on the certification of portable fire extinguishers.
Question
Are the bottles used for portable fire extinguishers subject to the Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) Regulations 2016 as amended (“the Regulations”) to be certified in accordance with Pressure Equipment Regulations by a UK Approved Body competent in Pressure Equipment? If not, may bottles certified by such an Approved Body be accepted for fire extinguishers subject to the Regulations without further action by the Approved Body that is requested to conduct the conformity assessment in accordance with the Regulations for such fire extinguishers?
Recommendation
No.
The Regulations and Pressure Equipment Regulations are different in terms of scope. The scope of the Regulations is the assessment of the fire extinguisher, while the Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (“the Pressure Equipment Regulations”) cover only the pressure resistance of pressure vessels. It is therefore not required that the cylinder of a fire extinguisher be certified in accordance with the Pressure Equipment Regulations. The UK Approved Body will assess the bottle in accordance with the requirements detailed in Annex 1 of MSN 1874 as amended.
In other words, the cylinder is to be considered as a component of the fire extinguisher to be considered under the Regulations. It is the responsibility of the Approved Body to decide how to assess the suitability of the components for the certification of the final equipment in accordance with the Regulations. Test reports issued in connection with a Pressure Equipment certification of a cylinder intended also for Marine Equipment fire extinguishers might be considered in connection with the review for approval, while Pressure Equipment certificates without a testing report, in general, should not be accepted in lieu of part of the review due for marine equipment conformity assessment.
In any case, Pressure Equipment certified cylinders designed in accordance with a standard different from EN-3 or certified by a Pressure Equipment Approved Body in accordance with Module H as well as Pressure Equipment cylinders certified by Pressure Equipment Approved Body with Modules B+C should be fully assessed by the Approved Body (design and production) as required by under Annex 1 of MSN 1874 as amended.
References
- MSN 1874 as amended
- The Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) Regulations 2016 as amended
- The Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016
- EN3
Items affected
- UK/3.2, Portable fire extinguishers
- UK/3.38, Portable fire-extinguishing equipment for lifeboats and rescue boats
More information
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Bay 2/21
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton
SO15 1EG
Telephone: +44 (0) 203 817 2000
Email: MEQA@mcga.gov.uk
Website: www.gov.uk/mca